Raise the Flames
by Darkestdream
Summary: A flame burned within her, almost smothered by her family. When she falls into Dracula's hands, can he keep the flame ablaze? DracOC. NO flames!
1. Chapter 1

OMG, could it be true? I've actually updated something? Yes, it IS true. This story is called Raise the Flames, however if you flame me in reviews I will be forced to kill you. This story is dedicated to Remember who is one of my best friends in the world. With no further crap from me, I give you my story. Review, and I'll answer any questions you have in time.

Chapter 1: Dead Eternally

Near complete silence engulfed the small town of Bucovina that night. Dim candles lit several homes, however the majority of the city had only the moon as light. The old, middle-sized and small homes rested quietly on the combination of dirt and cobble stone streets.

Once again Lucinda shot up in bed. Her white nightgown was drenched in sweat along with the rest of her body. The smallest amount of light imaginable flooded through her open window from the moon and the wind gently blew her drapes toward her. She unfortunately had no recollection of opening the window to begin with.

While the rest of her family quietly slept she took it upon herself to close the window. Shaking herself free of the nightmare that had woken her in the first place she allowed her bare feet to touch the stone cold, wooden floors. Immediately she shivered. Wrapping her arms around herself she began to cross the room, speeding past the empty bed that once belonged to her sister.

Eventually she reached the window. She glanced out, the wind blew her golden locks back. Her ocean blue orbs went wide at the sight of the moon. It was extremely bright, and it forced her to shield her eyes. Quickly she remembered her reason for being there, shut the window, and locked it. Slowly, Lucinda turned around. However the moment she did, she regretted it. For hanging upside down was almost literally a ghost from her past. It was Mayvn, her sister. Mayvn had been her sister. Mayvn was hanging upside down from the ceiling. Mayvn had been dead for a month.

The second Lucinda's eyes caught site of her sister she jumped back, gasping and her heart began racing. "Hello Lucy," Mayvn whispered menacingly. (try to think Aleera in Vaseria with the "Hello Anna," thing) She gracefully flipped to her feet on the floor and started slowly for her sister. Her porcelain skin seemed almost white now, her crystal blue eyes were cold and were glaring daggers into her sister. Her jet black, strait hair was down and hung gently framing her face. She was around twenty-six, and therefore two years younger than Lucinda. She was wearing a black leather halter top that showed a lot of cleavage. Her shoulders however, were covered up by a large, black leather coat, and finally, she wore black pants with boots that went up to her thighs.

Suddenly, a wicked smile spread across her face as she continued to cause her sister to retreat. As she spoke, her voice was high pitched, as if she were talking to a child, and it was dripping with hatred.

"Good evening sister. Miss me?" she whispered.

"M...m... Mayvn? How are you... why are you..." she stammered in disbelief, now edging backward on the floor.

"You know, I'd hardly say you mourned for seven days. It seemed all the problems faded after the day of my funeral," she commented innocently.

"You... you died. You were dead. I saw you, lying there... but then you were gone," she said frantically, now panicking.

"Oh I died all right. I am dead," she said, examining her hand and finger nail before continuing, "dead for ever."

"Please, don't hurt me, I'm sorry. Please just don't," she pleaded pathetically, as her back hit the wall behind her and she realized she was trapped. As Mayvn closed in on her sister, she started to sing, mimicking the taunting of small children.

"Mayvn, Mayvn,

poor little strange Mayvn,

she slits her wrists with knives and things,

so she must be a craven," she sang with loathing and disdain.

Tears began streaming down Lucinda's face, realizing that those were her last moments. Her sister was something else now, and she wasn't sure whether she was a monster or demon, but one thing was certain, she was mad. Mayvn's icy hand clutched Lucinda's throat, lifting her up from the floor.

"Now go, and face the judgment I was spared," she whispered slowly. Letting out a quiet hiss, Mayvn's mouth grew two long fangs and her eyes turned an unholy blue. Lucinda screamed for help but was quickly silenced by her sister's fangs in her neck, draining the life out of her.

Lucinda shot up in bed yet again, screaming, grabbing at her neck to feel for bite marks that weren't there.


	2. The Perfect Life Lie

I'm being nice and giving you all one more chapter. This is all I've typed, though I've got 11 chapters so far. I need to get typing, I know! But yeah, the thing in parenthesis is what is really is. A lie.

Chapter 2: The Perfect Life (Lie)

It was morning, and the room was hardly recognizable from the night before with light flooding through from the window. Slightly delayed, her mothering came running through the door.

"Lucy, Lucy what is it!" she demanded, rushing to her bedside. Slowly returning her breathing to normal she managed to find the words.

"Dream ... it was a dream, just a dream," she said almost breathlessly.

"A bad one obviously," her mother comforted.

"I'm fine, really I... um, when is Ivan going to be here?" she asked, rubbing her forehead.

"A little less than a hour, you have plenty of time," Mirela said, smiling warmly.

"Okay, I'm getting up," she announced quietly. As if she thought she was late for something Lucinda sprang out of bed and began to pull on her numerous layers of skirts and over coats. Once she finished she was wearing a warm, red velvet skirt that fanned out and when almost past her ankles, a plain white blouse that was somewhat off white, and a red vest. She spared herself the kerchief that concealed her mother's golden locks and pushed her blonde hair back into a messy bun.

Lucinda and Mirela made their way down the old wooden stairs into the kitchen where Lucinda's father and younger brother were already eating.

"Good morning dear," her father said, gazing up briefly from his food.

"Morning father," she said quietly, not looking into his icy blue eyes. She didn't exactly feel like looking at his jet black hair that may have been starting to get one or two gray strands. Her father's coloring reminded her too much of Mayvn.

"Lucy? Are you all right?" her brother Standislav asked, noticing his sister's lack of awareness.

"What? Oh, I'm fine," she said, joining her family at the table.

"So, your plans with Ivan today are?" her father asked, seeming slightly uncomfortable with his own question.

"Viktor honestly! They're not getting married for four months and you expect them to be sleeping together," Mirela stated. Standislav was snickering in the background from amusement.

"Well what about you little brother, you still sneaking around with that little Radka person?" Lucinda smirked.

"That's more than I can say for you and Ivan," Standislav shot back.

"After all this time I'd think you'd learn when to shut your mouth," Lucinda snapped.

"Mayvn would be laughing in the corner if she were here," he stated simply, "look at you, prancing around as if your new life is going to be perfect."

"Well too bad because Mayvn's dead, isn't she?" Lucinda sneered. Standislav lowered his head as their mother shot up.

"Both of you, that's enough. I thought we had an agreement that we were not going to mention that name in this house again," she snapped.

"Why? How would you like it? If when you're gone we decide to never mention you again," he asked.

"All of you ENOUGH," their father loudly commanded," perhaps not speaking of Mayvn is the best way to honor her."

Lucinda was about to make a snide remark when there was a knock at the door. Mirela briskly went to the front door and was pleasantly surprised to see Ivan's smiling face. Ivan was around thirty. His light brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail to reveal his green eyes.

"_Good morning Mrs. Agafetei, is Lucinda ready?"_ he asked, in perfect Romanian.

"Yes she is, come right in," Mirela smiled. As Ivan entered the house Lucinda had already left the kitchen and was waiting for him.

"Ah, Lucinda you look lovely as ever," he said.

"Thank you. It's good to see you," she said, offering him her hand. He kissed it politely before saying,

"Perhaps we should get going? I have some family who is dying to meet Lucinda."

"Go ahead, just be back by dark," she said. (I know it's weird, but remember where the live, and what comes out a night) Lucinda gracefully took Ivan's arm as the two walked out into the town.

"How have you been?" he asked, trying to make small conversation.

"Tired, and I had the dream again," she whispered.

"Mayvn?" he inquired. She nodded, slightly embarrassed. "You have to forget about her. She's dead, gone, and she's not coming back."

"You're right, but it's difficult when she's looming around in my nightmares," she sneered.

"Shh, let's not talk about this now. My family has been dying to meet you," he said, pushing open the front door to his house.

Lucinda spent that afternoon socializing with Ivan's family that was large, to say the least. Lucinda had never known a large family such as that when she was growing up. Her simple life consisted of her mother, father, brother, and now late sister. However the family gathering ended near sundown and Lucinda was feeling more secure about joining Ivan's family than ever. It was just the change she needed to get her mind off of her family's recent "accident" as they called it.

As Lucinda and Ivan neared her home they stopped at a bench. Ivan tucked several loose strands of Lucinda's golden hair behind her ears.

"You know you become more beautiful every time I see you," he commented. "Thank you. I had a truly nice evening," she said.

"Perhaps this marriage will be better than we both expected," he offered.

"Yes ... perhaps," she said. There was a moment of silence between the two of them and Ivan began to lightly kiss her lips. The kiss was innocent, light, gentle and as Ivan pulled away Lucinda felt her heart flutter slightly like a giddy school girl.

"Goodbye," Ivan quickly nodded before practically jogging off in the direction of his home. Lucinda too rose and briskly started to walk home. There was a piercing chill in the air and she felt like someone or something was watching her.

Slowly, a cloaked figure stepped out of a shadow cast by an alley as Lucinda entered her house and locked the door. The cloak hid the figure's entire body and the hood covered the face in darkness. All that could be see were two glaring, icy blue eyes.

Review, or those icy blue eyes will come out of the shadows and eat you!


	3. Midnight Meetings

**Sorry for the long wait for updates, but I've been very busy. But yeah, here we learn more about Standislav & his lovely assistant Radka. The two of them actually play a big part in the beginning, before Mayvn takes over. I'd like to thank Shero, my new reviewer, and Remember. Your reviews made me so happy, I couldn't stop smiling! Thank you so much!**

Chapter 3: Midnight Meetings

The moment Standislav heard his sister enter the house he moved from his place at the wooden desk in his room. As he slipped on a velvet overcoat he could hear his sister enter and shut the door to her bedroom behind her. As if on queue he strung his rope out of the window and literally began to repel down the side of his own house. Landing softly on the ground with the experience of someone who had done that before he made his way off into the darkened village.

The majority of the human race would have had a near impossible time seeing anything in the dark. However the seventeen year old had made that trip so many times that it was engraved in his mind and he could've made the trip with his eyes closed.

As he rounded one corner he saw a woman dressed in black that was holding a black shawl to conceal her face.

"Radka?" he asked cautiously. The woman threw the shawl off and ran into his arms.

"You're late," she whispered.

"Would you like to try scaling down your house with blankets that you tied together?" he asked, somewhat amused.

"I wouldn't, but I've missed you,"she cooed, looking up at him. Her green orbs that gazed up at him made all of his hardships worth while. He lovingly buried his head in her chocolate brown hair.

"Look, it's only for a while longer. I'll move out and you and I will be married," he comforted.

"Yes," she sighed, "but until then." She smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck. The two began to passionately kiss, each of their bodies screaming for the one thing that they could not have. The moment they pulled away Standislav pulled her into a nearby alley and pressed her against the wall as they became more intimate, away from any who could tell their parents.

"You seem sad," she breathed as he began placing hot kisses down her neck and chest. He stopped having been completely caught off guard by the randomness of her words.

"How would you know?" he asked, smiling at her somewhat quirky nature. Since the moment they met, Radka never ceased to amaze Standislav. To most she seemed like a quirky, eccentric, yet beautiful girl whose head was in the clouds. However to those like Standislav who took the time to understand her, she really was a caring, understanding, and insightful person.

"I just know," was her reply.

"You know me too well," he said, solemnly. Gently she took his hand and led him out of the alley and into the open clearing where the two sat on a bench in the middle of the small clearing in town.

"Tell me," she softly commanded.

"Mayvn," he sighed, "she haunts my sister."

"It is your sister's guilt that haunts her," Radka reasoned.

"No Radka, I mean Mayvn is **truly** haunting her. Lurking in the shadows, she hardly rests," he said, barely sounding sane.

Where the rest of the world would have looked upon him and believed him mad, Radka spoke, "All right, so have you spoken to her yet?"

"You believe me?" he asked, slightly shocked. She nodded. Out of utter relief he wrapped his arms around her, smiling.

"You're welcome," she smiled, "now have you spoken to her?"

"Yes, but I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. I'm sad that she's dead, not for Lucinda's inconvenience," he explained.

"You don't think she'd try and hurt her?" Radka asked.

"I don't know. But she's so angry. She... I don't know," he said, burying his face in his hands.

"I never knew Mayvn. I'd see her on occasion in town but... we never spoke to one another," Radka said slightly disappointed that she had never spoken to the now decease woman.

"Oh but she knew you," he smiled.

"Really? How is that?" she asked, amused by this.

"She judged everyone," he told, "it didn't matter if she'd spoken to you ore not but she could just tell whether you were a worth while person. She had almost everyone in the village figured out."

"And the whole village thought they had her figured out," she sighed, "but they were all wrong."

"Yes, but she was right about them," he said, starting to laugh at a memory. "You know how the whole town found out about Gregory and Milka having the affair?" she nodded. "About four months before everyone else found out, Mayvn and I were having one of our seldom conversations and she slips out that they're having an affair." Radka laughed for a moment.

"That was her, so observant, so smart," he said.

"And what did she think of me?" she asked, anxiously.

"She thought ... you were one of the few ones in this village that was any depth. I guess you could say she approved of you," he said.

"Wow, I guess I see the world differently than most but, I'm honored," she said.

"It was an honor she bestowed upon few," he said.

"Tell me more about Mayvn," she asked curiously.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"I remember her going out at night, weapons in hand. Tell me about her battles, and the things she protected this place from," she asked.

"All right," he smiled, "but you know she didn't do it for Bucovina. She did it for the thrill, she was a hunter by nature and it was one of the few things she enjoyed. Now, like almost any story surrounding Mayvn, it begins at night."

**Of course it begins at night! This is a vampire story which means like 95 needs to take place at night. Now REVIEW my darlings, REVIEW!**


	4. Happy Hunting

**Oh, and you all thought that your families were bad. Really! Mavyn's got it pretty rough. Feel bad for her, and yes Remember, you are suppose to hate Lucinda and Ivan.**

Chapter 4: Happy Hunting

It was nighttime. A frigid wind was blowing and the whole town was shut and locked up. However inside the house of the Agafetei family, two people inside were awake. While Lucinda, Mirela and Viktor slept peacefully unaware of any danger that was in the village, Mayvn and Standislav sat in the kitchen.

The kitchen was dimly lit by a few candles, and a small ray of moonlight flooded through the window from the full moon that lit up the night sky. Mayvn's icy blue eyes were gleaming as she glared out the window and back at her brother. She was eighteen at the time and was wearing her usual black hunter's garb and knee high leather boots. Her strait, black hair was down, and layers in the front framed her face. Her slim form was leaning back on a chair, with her feet up on the table. While Standislav was sitting, nervously fiddling with a pistol. He was only nine, but Mayvn had reluctantly taught him how to fire a pistol. Mayvn was calmly tracing a silver dagger with her fingers.

"You seem calm," Standislav noted, trying to be brave. A piercing gaze from Mayvn and silence was what followed. It was a rare occasion that Mayvn spoke. Although she was extremely intellectual and quick witted, Mayvn found silence to be a more peaceful way of life.

A pack of werewolves had been stalking the village for the past several days. Each night, they had killed two or more people only to sneak off into the darkness to wait for the next full moon. Which happened to be that night. The two sat there in silence for what seemed to be like hours. Occasionally one of their parents would go through the kitchen and mumble, "Go to sleep you two." However the two were prepared to sit there all through the night.

Finally, a scream could be heard from somewhere in town. Standislav shot up, nervously clutching his pistol while Mayvn calmly got up and made her way for the door. Once outside Mayvn took a moment to breathe in the cold night air. The wind immediately blew, moving her hair back and away from her face. Despite the lack of rain a crash of lightening came, lighting up her porcelain skin and turning her eyes an unholy blue for a split second.

That was the very jolt she needed. Sheathing her dagger she broke out into a run. She wasn't the least bit panicked but the thrill of the fight that awaited her drove her forward. Her keen hearing picked up her brother, uselessly trying to keep up with her. Rounding several corners and bolting down several narrow streets in the dark, she eventually came to a more open street where two werewolves could be seen, devouring a small child, while her sister cowered in an alley entry nearby.

Wasting no time, Mayvn lunged at the beasts, with a scimitar in each hand (slightly curved swords that are a little shorter than regular swords). She was able to quickly kill the first one, severing its head with one fell swing of a single blade, however the second would not go down as easily. It was obviously an experienced werewolf for it morphed into human form at free will and came at her with a sword that had been cleverly hidden against a house.

Throwing aside her scimitars, she unsheathed her sword and prepared to duel the lycan. No words were exchanged. With the man making the first strike the two began their duel. His moves were heavy, slow, yet fierce. Mayvn fought with speed, grace, while still delivering powerful strikes. As their fight picked up in speed Mayvn's moves increased in complexity. She would need to jump, twirl, and practically waltz in the air to avoid his deadly strikes.

While his sister fiercely dueled this mysterious man, Standislav crept in the shadows breathing heavily. In his right hand, he clutched a pistol loaded with silver bullets. He was fortunate. Were it not for Mayvn's distraction he would have been discovered long ago. Slowly, he entered the open area, aiming his pistol at the creature. However the moment he took another step towards the beast, its enhanced hearing picked him up. Immediately he turned from his duel with Mayvn to make his way towards Standislav. Muttering under her breath about her brother's lack of stealth, she used the brief distraction of the werewolf to take her sword and slice its head clean off.

Slowly she took a handkerchief out of a pocket and began to wipe her sword clean of blood. Standislav slowly approached her, about to apologize when she spoke, "Thank you," she said, sheathing her sword and turning to do the same to her scimitars. She then turned again and started to walk back to their house.

"Uh, you're welcome?" he said, surprised she wasn't angry with him.

"It's all right. If anything, you helped me," she said, continuing to walk. Running faster to catch up to her.

"So do you think the killings will stop now?" he asked.

"It's possible, if so all I see is an opportunity for more sleep," she said.

"Mayvn come on, you just saved that girl's life. You must feel some kind of satisfaction? You're practically a hero," her small brother asked.

"I wasn't saving that girl, that weak, pathetic little thing cowering in a corner; I was killing a nuisance that was keeping me up!" she snapped, angry at his persistence.

"I'm sorry," he said, growing quiet. She nodded, patting him on the back before she opened the door to their house. The moment they entered there mother and father came rushing towards them with Lucinda trailing behind lazily.

"Where have you two been?" Mirela demanded.

"Mother, we're fine, you might see fewer werewolf attacks though," the moment Standislav said that, Mayvn rolled her eyes and prepared for the worst.

"Oh my God! Mayvn you are not going to tell me that you dragged your brother out in the middle of the night to hunt werewolves!" her mother ranted.

"More like he followed me," she muttered.

"What?" she snapped. Mayvn remained silent.

"Mother I went on my own, don't blame----" but his mother was already half way up the stairs following Mayvn.

"Honestly , he could have been killed. He's only nine and you at eighteen are willing to risk his life," she continued. Mayvn continued up to the top of the stairs. She wanted to say, "Do you really think I would let him get hurt? The only one in this hell hole who gives a damn about me!" but she refrained from doing it. She let everything her mother said glance off of her. Finally she reached the bedroom she shared with Lucinda, entered, and shut the door.

Slightly fatigued she laid down on the small bed and began to run her fingers over a small dagger she kept handy. With little grace or silence Lucinda clumsily made her way back to her bed across from Mayvn.

"She's right you know," Lucinda yawned. "You're practically ruining this family," she continued sleepily.

"Come talk to me when you have an argument that mother didn't shove down your throat," she said coldly, not looking up from her dagger.

Being too tired to come up with anything to counter with, Lucinda grumbled a moment and went to bed. After sitting in the silence for a moment, Mayvn got up and went into the bathroom. There was a small bath with a pitcher of water for the two to share and a mirror. Fumbling around for matches she discovered them and lit a candle.

Now able to see she let her long coat fall to the floor and looked at her reflection. Her black shirt revealed the very beginnings of her wrists and soon her eyes wondered down until they gazed down at her fairly recent scars. They were all thin, strait cuts that went across her wrists, tainting her porcelain skin.

There was so much pain she could remember but was too numb to feel. She didn't want to remember it. Each scar told a story, and after what had just happened with her mother, she would need another to account the tale with. Slowly she took the sharpest point of her dagger and dragged it across her wrist. Her skin was thin and that made it all the easier to break. Frequently doing this she let out no cry of pain, nor did she flinch. Her bottom lip quivered a bit, but her eyes seemed to glare contempt at the scars and the fresh cuts. As if they were something that haunted her and she had no control over.

Once she finished she dabbed the blood off of her arms and went to sleep. As perceptive as she was, even she was unable to pick up on the fact that someone was watching her. Watching over her, in fact. Someone who could feel all of her pain and was overwhelmed by it.

**Yeah, long story short, Mayvn can kick some serious ass, and she's depressed. She's also a little um, what's the right word? INSANE. She's not quite right up in the head. But that's okay because we love her anyway. REVIEW! Please **


	5. Your Blood Is Mine

**Well, I'll summarize for ya! Sex, blood, pain, and…..insanity! Muahahahaha! **

Chapter 5: Your Blood Is Mine

"I had no idea," Radka marveled.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I didn't either until she died."

"All right, but you said she's alive," she protested.

"I said no such thing, I said she's haunting my sister," he said.

"Would you care to elaborate on that a bit?" Radka asked.

"My sister found Mayvn on the floor of our bathroom with blood pouring from her wrists. She went to fetch my mother and father, and when she dragged them back to the bathroom, screaming about Mayvn's dead body, there was nothing there. The blood was still on the floor, but she was gone. We never found her body," he told remorsefully.

"Your family is waltzing around like she's dead, and you never even found a body?" she said, slightly disturbed.

"Yes," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "they call it the 'accident' because they won't take responsibility for it."

Radka gently wrapped her arms around him, tenderly kissing his solemn face. Being slightly uplifted by this, he ran one hand through her deep brown hair.

"Besides," he continued, a single tear running down his face, "it's not like she's lying in a ditch somewhere. I mean she's here, she stays close by. For crying out loud she's a..."

"A little surprised to still be talked about," a low, seductive but still feminine voice interrupted. Both Standislav and Radka's hearts leapt into their mouths. For standing there, in all black, with a long black cloak wrapped around her, was Mayvn.

"Mayvn, God you scared me," Standislav said, standing up and gently taking Mayvn's hands, "are you all right?" She nodded.

"I... I thought I'd see how you were doing," she said, smiling weakly.

"I'm fine," he smiled, pleased to see her, "but there is someone I want you to meet." He took her hand and led her toward Radka who was still sitting on the bench, looking as though she had seen a ghost. Feeling as if she was being judged, Radka gazed up into Mayvn's icy eyes with her warm green ones. After a moment of silence where neither of them said a word, Radka finally spoke.

"Pleased to meet you Mayvn," she said, smiling uneasily.

"Standislav, you picked a good one. I like this one," she said, smiling at Radka.

"Thank you," Radka said gratefully.

"Radka relax, it's just Mayvn," Standislav said, noticing how tense she was.

"I'll relax when someone tells me how someone who almost bleeds to death on a bathroom floor is up, walking around town," she said, unnerved.

"Mayvn, would you like to go into that little detail?" Standislav asked, slightly uneasy.

"I did die Radka, but not the way people think," Mayvn started.

"I sense another story coming on," Standislav said, sitting down beside Radka again.

"All right, the night of my death," she started.

(flashback)

On a very normal, typical dark night in Bucovina, the Agafetei family was once again full of rage and turmoil. On this particular night the topic of conversation, or really more for debate was Ivan Stravinski and Ira Grossinov.

Both daughters of Viktor Agafetei were engaged - arranged marriages. Lucinda, to Ivan Stravinski, and Mayvn to Ira Grossinov. Neither of the girls were too inclined. Lucinda who dreamed of finding true love and Mayvn who didn't want to belong to any husband.

It is a proved theory that two people who despise each other can unite under one valor if given a common enemy. And so for the brief moment, Mayvn and Lucinda could agree on one thing: they had to prevent these marriages. Lucinda had managed to convince them to hold it off for a few more months however Mayvn was having a more difficult time. Ira had wanted to marry Mayvn for some time but her family had been reluctant. Not at all because they cared if she married a jackass who only wanted her for her beauty, but they knew that he would make her unhappy. And if Mayvn was unhappy, there was no telling the things she would do that could reflect badly upon their family. However, after growing tired of waiting for his prize, Ira finally decided that there were quicker ways to achieve what he wanted. He paid her family a rather handsome sum in exchange for their agreement to let him marry Mayvn.

"Mayvn this is far beyond love, of course he doesn't love you. This is about the good of our family. Could you for once in your life do something that would not make this family look like a freak show?" her mother asked, desperate.

"If I was such a wretched person, I'd think of a lot more effective ways to avoid marrying him. I'm trying to be civil," she screamed, her eyes glaring, "is it so hard to believe that I could want to marry someone who actually cares for me?" she asked, her voice sounding ragged and full of frustration.

"And how long would that take? For you to find someone who loves you? Mayvn you are different, strange, cold, and how many men in the world to you really think will fall in love with that?" her mother asked. Even Viktor was surprised at his wife's ability to insult their daughter like that. However his weak will prevented him from standing up for her. Standislav also sat there, appalled at what his mother was saying, yet feeling helpless to stop it.

"You're right mother, unfortunately there are not many people in the world who see more than you do. And that doesn't say much for the world,"she muttered, loud enough for Mirela to hear. The real situation of Mayvn's life was finally sinking in. She was unwanted, not love, and she could only take so much. The emotions she has suppressed so much because she was afraid of the ramifications were bubbling to the surface.

She entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Tears of rage flooded her eyes and she threw her coat onto the bed. It was nighttime, and only her silhouette could be seen from a distance. Feeling all sense of reason leave her she began running her hands all over her face, her head, through her hair. Her heart began racing with wild ideas of how to fix her broken life.

Slowly she reached down into her boot and pulled out a dagger. The feeling of the leather hilt in her hand calmed her down. Once again she entered the bathroom and this time she flung the shudders open, letting the moonlight flood the room along with the cold night breeze. Dropping to her knees on the floor she began her normal ritual or dragging the dagger across her smooth, pale skin of her wrists. As her anger rose yet again, imagining the wicked faces of her family, of the world, she dug the knife in deeper into her skin, numb to the stabbing pain. After a few more moments of ruthlessly slicing at her wrists she stopped. Crimson blood stained the floor and soaked her wrists and hands. Suddenly becoming dizzy she slowly lowered herself to the floor where she laid on her back. Her arms laid, spread out on either side of her, coated in a warm, sticky liquid.

She could feel her breath becoming shallow, her vision was blurring, and she smiled to herself weakly, realizing that those were her last moments. Peacefully she decided to close her eyes and wait.

The peaceful silence that she laid, dying in was shattered abruptly. Lucinda glanced out of the corner of her eyes having just waked into their bedroom. She shrieked seeing his sister's dead body lying in a pool of blood. In her panic, she failed to see the feint rising and falling of her chest. Lucinda quickly left the room to fetch her parents. Silently Mayvn prayed that she would go before they all came back, for she didn't want to see or feel their presence ever again. As her heart beat began to slow down drastically she heard a gust of wind blow through the window and immediately after, she felt a dark, looming aura in the room with her, although she was too weak to see whom. Her entire body was fading, so much in fact she could barely feel the strong pair of arms that were pulling her into a person's lap. The body was surprisingly cold, and yet the arms that now embraced her seemed to offer comfort and protection. Barely opening her eyes, she saw the deep blue eyes of a man gazing down at her. Although too weak to speak she could feel his hands gently brush her black hair away from her neck. Slowly, his lips grazed the porcelain skin of her neck, licking it, nipping at it and gently kissing it. In a complete daze from the lack of blood and the man that now had her slightly aroused, Mayvn quietly heaved a sigh of relief that her death would be peacefully. However she felt a horrible stabbing pain in her neck rather suddenly. She let out the most demure whisper of "no," as she felt even more precious blood leave her.

"Now," said the voice of a man in a whisper, "your blood is mine." He then paused a moment. Moving back some of his long, jet black hair away from his neck. "And my blood, is yours," he spoke slowly, pressing his neck against her mouth.

Her eyes gently closed, Mayvn felt life begin to take hold of her again as the blood trickled down her throat. It gave a warm, euphoric sensation to her and she weakly began to suck more of it from the man. After a big longer of him allowing her to replenish her body with much needed blood, he cradled her weak, and lifeless form in his arms. He smiled slightly as he watched to deep scars on her wrist almost fall off of her skin to leave nothing but flawless, scar-free wrists. Standing up, clutching Mayvn's unconscious body against him, he vanished into the dark night.

It was not a minute after that the four remaining members of the Agafetei family came running in. But all of them froze in their tracks in the bathroom doorway. There were two large pools of blood on the floor, but no one was there.

**That was without a doubt, the best vampire – turning scene that I have ever written, hands down! Please review, but don't flame cause that's just mean! You could burn yourself.**


	6. Sired By Dracula

**Just incase you've all been asleep the past few chapters, yeah! Mayvn is a vampire, wake up people! And, I kinda wanted her sire to be a secret but I see no point in hiding it. Would there be any story if it wasn't him? I use lots of nice, grammatically incorrect Romanian in this chapter but bear with me because I translated for you all. Thank you for your patience.**

Chapter 6: Sired by Dracula

"So you're a vampire," Radka said, slightly worried, but also amazed. Mayvn nodded. She then turned her head to her brother and spoke.

"But I'm here for something. Standislav, I need some of my things. My sword, weapons, things like that," she said.

"Why? Mayvn is someone hurting you?" he asked.

"Yes, you never said, who is your sire?" Radka inquired.

"Yeah, and why won't you just come home?" her brother asked.

"All right, can I please take it one question at a time?" Mayvn asked quietly, "no one is hurting me, I just don't want our parents selling them since they're probably worth a lot of money. Who my sire is, is unimportant because the relationship between sire and bride if the same everywhere. Why don't I come home? Because my days in that house were the worst of my life. They did this to me, it is because of them I died and because of them I'll live forever!" she said, rolling back her sleeves to reveal wrists that had many feint scars that just looked like white lines on her milky skin. Some of those scars were too deep for immortality to heal.

"You're right Mayvn," Radka said, calmly standing up, "it is their fault, and they take no responsibility for it."

"Thank you Radka. So will you get my things brother?" she asked, hopeful.

"All right, but why can't you just creep in and do it? You seemed to have no problem doing that last night in your old bedroom," he countered.

"You found out about that?"Mayvn asked, uneasily.

"It's hard not to when Lucinda is up screaming every night," he groaned.

"It's a mind trick. I never actually entered the house. I entered her mind while she slept, and made her dream that," Mayvn explained.

"Fine, I'll do it," he groaned.

"Thank you, I..." but she was cut off, as if someone was talking to her. She muttered in annoyance before she continued, "I have to go. But I'll meet you both here tomorrow night."

"Mayvn," Radka called as Mayvn started to walk away. Mayvn, who was trying to exercise a little more patience, turned around to face her, "What is it?" Radka asked.

"It's him, he's mad, and he wants me back," she said, continuing to walk away. Entering an alley, Radka and Standislav watched together as Mayvn morphed into a terrifying hellbeast and flew off into the night, away from the village.

Her hellbeast form looked terrifying with its long, talon like finger nails, silver wings, unholy blue eyes, and her long black hair flowing behind her like a mane. Wasting no time, she flew swiftly, slicing through the air, almost making no sound. Although she wasn't afraid of his anger, it was rather difficult for someone with a temper like Mayvn's to tolerate.

As she neared the large castle that rested on a hilltop, she landed and changed into her human form. Violently she flung open the doors and stormed into the entryway, her long cloak trailing behind her.

"All right, I'm here, what do you want?" she demanded.

"Tsk tsk, such manners," a voice said. The voice was a low, seductive one and had a thick, Romanian accent.

"I was in the middle of something," she growled.

"I know," he admitted, stepping out from a shadow behind her. He was dressed in all black and his jet black hair was pulled back into a ponytail with several loose strands framing his face. His skin was pale, much like Mayvn's however his eyes were a much less intense blue. "But since when does that mean I can't interrupt you?" he asked. She shot him a cold glare, and looked away to avoid the frequent mind control he would use on her. "Mayvn, am I sensing a bit of defiance?" he asked, stroking the nape of her neck from behind.

"And if you are?" she whispered, slowly feeling him picking away at her free will.

"Well then, I can fix that," he said suggestively. He gently unfastened her cloak and let if fall to the floor. As she turned around he began to run his fingers through her soft hair. The desire he had for her inside rising as he began to kiss her neck. She quietly let out a whimper as he ran his masterful hands up and down her sides. Her long, slender fingers began to unfasten his shirt when he gently, but firmly stopped her. She gazed at him with a confused look as he explained, "You would never forgive me when you would get your free will back." With that, Mayvn's ability to think on her own was restored.

"You're a fool **Dracula**," she whispered.

"And why is that?" he asked.

Pulling out of his arms she continued, "Because that mind control is the only way you'll ever have me."

"We'll see. In the mean time would you like to explain why you were out in the middle of the night, speaking with your brother?" he asked rather smartly.

"You're not my father, I don't need to report to you," she said, her back to him.

"I feel differently, Mayvn. If you remember," and he then whispered in her mind, "meu sînge es al tâu, al tâu sînge es al meu. Tu esti al meu în eternitate." (english: My blood is in you, and yours in me. You are mine for all eternity)

"A face nu nevoie la spre a fi al tau," she whispered, almost pleading. (english: I don't want to be yours)

"Tu esti meu pod, alt optiune es nu înâuntru al tâu posseston," he commented. (english: You are my bride, you have no other choice)

"All right. I needed him to get me some things," she said honestly.

"What?" Dracula asked.

"My sword, knives, pistols, other things like that," she said.

"I can give you those things if you like," he offered.

"I just want them, and I don't want my parents selling them to buy Lucinda's wedding dress," she said, upset at the thought that that could happen to her beloved sword and weaponry.

"You need to break off your ties with them," he said solemnly.

"Ties with them?" she asked, shocked, "What ties with them? I don't give a damn about any of them, I just want my sword. What else are you talking about?"

"Lucinda," he mouthed.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, slightly disturbed.

"You're tormented Mayvn, I can sense it in you, and it's strong. Let it go Mayvn, that part of your life is over. They can't hurt you know," he urged.

"I'm not finished with them yet," she muttered.

"You need to be. You'll be miserable for an eternity if you don't ... and so will I," he said, the second part more quiet.

"I'll be miserable for an eternity whether I let go of them or not. If you remember, I was trying to die when you took me. I wanted death, and you expect me to be excited because now I'll never die?" she asked, angered.

"We'll discuss this later. For now go and change, I have guests coming," he commanded. She started storming off down a hallway when he called her back. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked. With much reluctance she walked back to him, quickly kissed him on the lips, and walked off again.

As she quickly walked down the hallway she wiped her mouth off with her arm, desperate to get his taste off of her lips. Entering her room she clasped her head in her hands out of frustration and growled. With surprising strength she lifted a black, velvet chaise lounge and threw it against the wall. The wood splintered into small pieces as she collapsed onto the bed, moaning and screeching in frustration.

Slowly she started to take deep, slow breaths as she let go of her anger and her eyes began to return to their icy blue color. Remembering Dracula's words she got off of the bed and began to calmly go through her wardrobe to select a dress. All of them were either black or violet silk and so she chose a black one that had lace for sleeves. Carefully she put on the extremely formfitting gown that hugged her slender body. Solemnly she crossed the room to a vanity where she sat down and began to run a brush through her soft, raven hair. The brush moved up and down in the reflection of the mirror by itself, as if it were controlled by a ghost for Mayvn held no reflection.

Once she was content with the way believed her hair to look she quietly placed the brush down and sat in silence. If Dracula truly did have people coming over, then she knew exactly what he wanted of her. Moonlight flooded through the large window and cast light upon the gray stone walls and floor. Slowly the door opened and Dracula's elegant form stood in the doorway.

Although he did not show it for a moment, Dracula was awestruck by her. She had gone from a defiant warrior in pants, a blouse and corset, to an elegant, subservient bride in a matter of minutes. This both shocked and amazed him. He took a brief moment to take in her beauty. With her pale skin contrasting perfectly with her black dress and hair she couldn't have looked more perfect to Dracula if she had been painted in a picture. Yet her icy blue eyes bore into him as if searching his soul for every flaw and every sin.

Remembering what he was there for, Dracula extended his hand to her, beckoning her to come. She rose slowly and began to walk towards him, not making eye contact. As she did the dress which hugged her every curve had a small train of black lace that trailed behind her elegantly. Once she gently took his hand he had to fight to surpress the shivers that her touch gave him. Shivers of delight and ecstasy.

The two began to walk down the hallway, with Dracula almost leading her by the hand. The hallway was lit only by the moon that shone through the several large windows and shadows darkened almost every corner. For a moment Dracula turned and smiled at her in approval. However Mayvn had returned to her usual, silent, and almost emotionless self. In an attempt to spark some sort of emotion in her, he gently caressed the lower part of her arm that was covered by lace. She allowed it without protesting, but gave no reaction.

The silence was almost unbearable. He knew she wouldn't speak a word to him on her own and their feet made no sound as they almost floated across the floor. Although Dracula was a fan of peace and quiet, the silence that Mayvn brought with her was awkward, uncomfortable and downright unbearable. He was also for one of the few times in his life, at a loss for words. He could seduce any woman, but he couldn't think of anything to spark a conversation with her.

"Tu esti foarte frumo," he finally managed. (english: You are very beautiful.) She gave no response. "De ce a face tu a da înauntru al meu ahor?" he inquired. (english: Why do you give in to me now?)

"Eu sînt al tâu desa pururi, Eu esti nu la spre," she said, repeating what he said to her earlier. (english: I am yours forever, I have no choice.)

"So," he continued, feeling english might be easier, "what is going on with your brother?"

"He's ... probably going to get married," she said.

"Ah, and what do you think of her?" he asked.

"She's all right. She's pretty enough," Mayvn said, not wanting to seem like she had paid that much attention to the girl.

"Radka is rather pretty, but she's not as pretty as you," he said, smiling at her hopefully. But she said nothing and did not look him in the eye.

"Dammit Mayvn, that would have worked on any other woman in the world!" he complained. Taking him by surprise, Mayvn spoke to him in his mind.

"Dracula, you may not claim to know me at all, and classify me with any other woman," she spoke, coldly.

"You're right, I'm..." he paused for a moment searching for the right words, "sorry." Despite it being extremely unlike Dracula to apologize for anything, he was desperate for Mayvn not to hate him and would have tried anything. "Do you intend to be somewhat charming tonight?" he asked, knowing that she was capable of it.

"I'll stay by your side, I'll nod my head and say yes to everything you say," she said, still only looking strait ahead.

"You could smile," he suggested, hopefully. Silence followed. The two reached the door and Dracula politely opened it before they both walked into the room to be met by four vampire men and two strikingly beautiful vampire women. The other vampires were all sitting on various chairs and couches while the women clung to the men, caressing and fawning all over them. Dracula sat on a chaise lounge and managed to get Mayvn to sit with her legs stretched out on the lounge and her head resting on his shoulder.

For the majority of the evening, Dracula spoke with his guests while Mayvn remained by his side. At times she could act like a perfect bride; she at that moment was loyal, devoted, and most importantly mindless. She would on occasion, gently stroke his chest or shoulder and he couldn't help but feel that she was enjoying that annoyance he felt when she acted that way. Whenever Dracula felt as though he needed support he would ask Mayvn for her honest opinion on the conversation topic. After two hundred years with three brides incapable of intellectual thought Dracula would have appreciated an actual comment of value. However Mayvn would merely smile seductively and say, "Yes master, my thoughts exactly." This got extremely petulant as he knew that she was doing it just to bother him.

Finally as the vampires bid their farewells and took off into the night, Dracula turned to Mayvn and said, "I would've appreciated a little more intellectual impute." Without saying a word, Mayvn walked off to her chambers, hopeful that Dracula would leave her alone for the remainder of the evening. She was aggravated he made her do that, but also because his comments to her afterwards confused her more as to what he actually wanted from her.

**(sighs) I love Dracula! He is my wonderful, sexy lover! HA! I wish. But yeah, please review because this is all I've typed. But I've written up to chp. 11, so I may have to finish it over the summer. Oh well, please review.**


	7. Ira Grossinov

**I know, I should be staked for making you all wait this long, but I feel terrible because my loyal friend and reviewer Remember has had such a horrible week, I decided I could manage to update one chapter to try and make her feel better. Remember of course, you reviews make me so happy, it kills me that you feel so sad right now. I'd like to thank some other people that reviewed: Just To Be, The Dancing Cavalier (singing in the rain? I love that movie!), Fortune Zyne, Princess Airiana and Shero. You are all so kind, that's a bunch. You should all hate this new character Ira, but if I've done my job, I shouldn't need to tell you that!**

Chapter 7: Ira Grossinov

Standislav awoke to the sound of his sister merrily singing about something that he was too fatigued to comprehend. He guessed that it was something that Ivan had done that Lucinda found irresistibly adorable. "Just delightful," he thought. He could now be forced to listen to that all day.

Slowly and painfully he pulled himself out of bed and began to dress for the cold day that awaited him. Quietly he walked down the stairs of his house to the kitchen where he knew a divine feast of hard bread and water awaited him. If he was lucky, there might be a small drop of milk, but that was not likely.

By no means did he want to go down stairs to face the family that he was developing more hatred for each day. Now that he was more certain about the circumstances of his sister's death he could not believe the way in which his family was sweeping that part of their lives under the carpet. However since there was nothing he could do to stop his family's stupidity, he reached the kitchen and groggily sat down at the table. Immediately his mother brought him a plate of bread and cheese and he absentmindedly began to eat.

"And then he took my hand and kissed me. I floated all the way home," she said, spinning around in the kitchen like a fool.

"That's wonderful dear," Mirela said, absently while she bustled about the kitchen.

The family's in-depth conversation was interrupted by a loud and obnoxious knock at the door. Abruptly stopping her tasks in the kitchen, Mirela briskly walked to the door and opened it. Unfortunately, standing there was the unruly and scruffy form of Ira Grossinov.

"Mr. Grossinov, how may I.." she started.

"I'm here for my money," he interrupted with his gruff, hard and thick accent.

"Surely it's not proper that you..." she began again.

"I've given you all a month to grieve for the wench, now I believe a refund is in order," he demanded more sternly.

Ira Grossinov was a man of about thirty eight and was downright hideous. He had black, untrimmed hair and rich brown eyes. He possessed the most scruffy looking beard you'd ever seen in your life and he wore the traditional clothing of middle class men in Bucovina however it did nothing to hide his rotund and less appealing physique.

Viktor slowly got up from the table and went to the door to stand behind his wife. "Ira, you and I both failed to think of an agreement should Mayvn die. But please, our family has just suffered a tragedy. Do not ask this of us," Viktor pleaded.

"HA! A tragedy? You and your family have made it clear that you hardly feel hurt by her passing," Ira said.

"And the sum you demand is?" Viktor asked.

"1,500, exactly what I paid you," he said.

"We were going to use that money for our other daughter's wedding," Mirela said, weakly.

"Hmmm, lovely, now the money," Ira urged. Nodding, Viktor made his way upstairs to his bedroom and retrieved the pouch of money from under the mattress. Returning to where Ira waited at the front door.

"Here's the money. Take it and go," Viktor mumbled, defeated. Smiling and revealing yellow and rotting teeth, Ira walked away, victorious. Having heard the whole conversation from his place at the kitchen table, Standislav got up from his chair and began to follow Ira.

"Mr. Grossinov! Mr. Grossinov wait," Standislav called. However Ira did not stop walking and Standislav was force to jog after him. "Please wait."

"What do you want, boy?" he demanded.

"I just think you should reconsider," he panted.

"Oh yeah, and I suppose you were going to use that money to go to school," Ira spat.

"I just thought you wanted to marry Mayvn so badly you'd have some consideration for her family," Standislav snapped.

"Son, I paid your parents to make Mayvn marry me because they didn't want her to do it anymore than she did. There were afraid she'd do something to embarrass your family but apparently, they couldn't refuse 1,500 pieces of gold. Your sister would have made a fine trophy wife and I was determined to get that placed on my mantel. Look's like my search continues," he said, walking off into the village.

Despite the fact that Standislav was furious at Ira for trying to buy his sister and then dishonoring her in death, he couldn't help but feel grateful that Mayvn was what she was. Although she had not said who her master was, he could imagine that he must at least be better looking than Ira. As he was thinking about Mayvn he remembered: with no more money from Ira, his family was likely to sell Mayvn's weaponry.

Practically sprinting back to his house, Standislav burst into Lucinda's bedroom and felt under Mayvn's old bed for her sword. He heaved a sigh of relief when he felt its metal hilt. However he had a feeling that wouldn't last so he carefully gathered all of her weapons and brought them to his room. Laying them down on his bed, he admired the craftsmanship of Mayvn's sword. Two snakes with black diamonds for eyes were entwined around the handle. On her two long swords, two rubies were imbedded in each of the handles in the shape of tear drops.

is bed, he admired the craftsmanship of Mayvn's sword. Two snakes with black diamonds for eyes were entwined around the handle. On her two long swords, two rubies were imbedded in each of the handles in the shape of tear drops.

How Mayvn had come across such fine weapons was a mystery to even Standislav, but so many things about Mayvn were a mystery and so he wasn't going to look to far into it. Relieved that he had secured her belongings for the moment, he backed away from his bed took a seat at his desk. Slowly but confidently he gently took out a piece of parchment and dipped his quill into ink. His few possession for writing were seldom gifts from his parents that he was extremely grateful for. With great care he started to write a letter.

Dear Mayvn,

I have done as you asked of me and retrieved your weapons. You did not tell me who your sire is, and since you never confided in me I don't expect you to. However there is something I want you to know. I never paid any attention to the lies and judgment that everyone subjected you to. You were always a honest, brave and loyal sister and I feel as if I tried but failed to be all that in a brother to you. The selfish part of me still prays that you were here with me so that I would be able to prove myself a better brother to you. Although you seem unhappy with this man, this vampire, your master, I believe that he is your chance; to start anew and to perhaps enjoy your time on earth. Please remember my words and take them to heart. Don't dwell on our family for an eternity. Let us go.

With all my love,

Standislav.

While he carefully tied the note to the sword he paused, having heard a slight tap at his window. As he got up to see what was making the noise, he was surprised to find Radka standing outside his window with another stone in hand.

"All right, I'm here. No need to break a window," he smiled, "What is it?"

"Do you want to go to school, Stan?" she asked, innocently looking up at him.

"What? Why are you asking me that?" he inquired, leaning against the window sill.

"I uh... look, could you come down here please?" she asked, uneasily shifting from foot to foot. She was wearing a simple cloth dress with a brown shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her straight, shoulder-length hair was blowing in her face from the cold wind.

Having hurried down the stairs, Standislav walked out of his front door and immediately went to Radka. With some tears staining her face she embraced him tightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong. A man from London came this morning doing business with my father. He said he's on his way to Bucharest to become a professor at a university there. So I asked him about it, and he said that the goal of the university is to help rural people get a better education," she said, seeming to become more upset as she went on.

"So, what's wrong? That's great," Standislav exclaimed.

"Well, Bucharest is a very long train ride away and you know, once you manage to get out of a place like this, there's really no point in coming back so..." she paused for a moment with tears in her eyes, "I'll miss you." Radka then started to walk away, wrapping her arms around herself to hold back tears.

"Radka, wait! Please, wait," he called, jogging after her. She did not stop walking and so he called after her.

"I haven't even decided yet!" he protested. At that remark, Radka stopped right in her tracks and turned to face him.

"No! You don't get to decide. This is the opportunity of a life time for you and you are going to take it and never look back," she yelled before storming off again.

A part of Standislav was too hurt to argue with her. Another was simply astonished at how right she was. However he wished it was as simple as she had said. But he could not simple leave and not look back. Radka had become too important to him and so leaving her and never coming back was not an option.

However he could tell that she needed time to cool down and so he decided he could wait to tell her that he wasn't going anywhere without her. Though, he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to bring her with. That would require a sum of money that not even Standislav


	8. Ira's Fate and Lucinda's Possession

**Hello lovelies, yes I'm back. I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do with this story, since I have a better idea right now. But I am going to post what I have, which is up to chapter 10 or 11. Then I'll ask you all for any ideas you may have for how I can continue this thing, since I'm out of ideas. This chapter is pretty long, but I like it. If anything confuses you (that you don't think will be revealed later) then please ask me. Thanks to all who are reviewing, Remember your reviews make me smile in ways I didn't know my face was capable of. Thanks to Cosmopolitan Countess, Princess Airiana, Just To Be, The Dancing Cavalier, Fortune Zyne and Shero. I hope you're all still reviewing. Without further adieu, here it is:**

Chapter 8: Ira's Fate and Lucinda's Possession

As nighttime once again fell upon Bucovina the whole village tensed up slightly. Night held so many dangers for all, as the village was constantly under the threat of werewolves, vampires and other evil creatures that could only emerge at night. Several houses had lights that were glowing with the warm, blazing lights of fires and candles as electric light was almost never found in Bucovina.

In one particular tavern on the outskirts of the village several dozen men sat drinking merrily after the hard days work. One older man stood in the corner, playing a violin. As he did, the old Romanian folk tunes played in harmony with the laughter of drunken men. Young, attractive, luscious barmaids giggled madly as they poured more ale into the mugs of pleading men.

"So then I said, 'Darling, I don't care if the goat is from China, the bed is right next to you!'" one man told as the whole bar cracked up in thunderous laughter. Ira Grossinov was among these men. And was laughing right along with all of them, crudely.

"All right, back to our game. Here, say fifty gold pieces," he said, placing his newly acquired gold on the table.

"Ira , where did you get all of this money all the sudden?" one man asked.

"I just, well I guess you could say I got back some money from a bad investment," he slurred. Despite having no idea what he meant, all of the men began to laugh.

"Oh, I don't know if that Agafetei girl was such a bad investment. She certainly was pretty enough," another man said, lazily hanging over Ira's shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, all right. Lina, more beer all around!" he demanded, holding up his mug. As Lina began to fill each of there mugs, the men would growl and moan each time she leaned over, and Ira was the loudest of all.

For hours that went on. Late into the night those men sat there and wasted away their time with alcohol. While the nighttime air was crisp and frigid outside, the air was warm and thick inside the tavern. Around three in the morning the bar owner closed up and the men were forced onto the streets.

Drunk beyond the capability of most people, Ira Grossinov started to make his way to his house. His thick, leather boots made a great deal of clumsy noise. Becoming impatient with how long it was taking him to get home he decided to take a short cut. Now I'm sure, as most of you know, most of these "short cuts" never go well. Well for Ira, this was no different.

As he turned a corner down one particularly dark street, he could see a dark shadow moving quickly behind a building. Dismissing it as nothing important he continued to walk and again turned into an alley. Slowly he worked his way between the two houses that were very close together. The fact that it was nighttime made it almost pitch black. Ira's breathing was heavy and ragged as he emerged on the other side of the alley. For a moment he looked in both directions, making sure that he was alone. As he was about to continue he heard the sound of steps behind him. He turned around but the alley was pitch black and he saw nothing. But the footsteps continued and so he began to briskly walk down the street and away from the alley. When he could no longer hear the footsteps he calmed down slightly.

Finally he turned around to start towards his house. However the moment he did he regretted it. For standing there, glaring daggers into him with icy eyes was Mayvn. Never in all of his years had Ira ever seen such hatred. He was about to scream for help when Mayvn took her milky white hand out of her cloak and pushed it to her lips.

"Don't scream," she said.

"How is this possible? You're dead ... you..." he stammered.

"You always had such a way with words Ira, now tell me, were you pleased with the refund my parents granted you?" she asked.

"I... needed the money, I was going broke," he quivered.

"A bad investment, was I? You weren't exactly my first choice for a husband either. Still, you must have wanted this pretty badly to have paid that much gold for it," she hissed, motioning to her body. Her eyes became more icy.

"Help, someone!" Ira pleaded, backing into a wall.

"Don't yell, just beg. I want to hear you beg for your life," she said, unsheathing her sword. She smirked to herself, loving the feeling of holding her beloved weapon again. Her brother had done an excellent job of retrieving all of her weapons.

"Mayvn now, please don't do anything you'll re--" but Mayvn didn't let him finish. With one clean swipe she sliced his head off.

She took a moment to just stand there, and soak in what she had just done. It felt good to end his pitiful existence. Breathing deeply she took in the smell of his death while she licked the blood off of her sword. Using her cloak she wiped the rest of the blood off of her sword. Turning to leave a single tear rolled down her face, although she remained expressionless. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it hurt that he was willing to pay for her, and her parents sold her to him.

"What do you want?" she asked to what appeared to be darkness.

"You home," the voice of Count Dracula responded. Growling, Mayvn looked into the shadows for a moment and Dracula finally stepped out. The moonlight caused his pale skin to gleam.

"You actually think he didn't deserve that?" she ranted.

"Oh, he did," Dracula nodded, walking back to where Ira's bloody corpse laid. Getting down on one knee, he motioned for Mayvn to come to him. Too emotionally drained to protest, Mayvn knelt down beside him. He handed her the man's limp wrist and managed a charming smile.

"Is there even anything left?" she laughed, weakly.

"Yes, now come on. He's yours," Dracula said. It was an approach to charming a woman that Dracula had never taken. Mayvn was not trusting him readily about anything, and so instead of using his usual seductiveness, he was trying the occasional act of kindness.

Mayvn gracefully elongated her fangs and began to drink menacingly. Her icy blue orbs turned an unholy blue as bright red blood stained her porcelain face. Dracula gently placed a hand on her shoulder, beckoning her to stop.

"Save some for me," he whispered. With her crystal eyes and blood dripping from her mouth, Mayvn looked up from Ira's body, puzzled. "You cannot be bought Mayvn, and I loathe this man as you do just for trying," he explained. Nodding, Mayvn handed him the wrist. Dracula violently began to drink from Ira, anger flooding over him because of this man's foolish decision.

When he had finished, he turned his head to Mayvn. Her eyes had not yet returned to their normal color, there was bright red blood around her mouth and her heavy breathes could be seen in the cold night air. With a gloved hand he wiped the blood off of her mouth.

Mayvn stood up and walked away, leaving Dracula on the ground. As he watched the silhouette of her cloaked figure move off into the distance he was unable to tell whether he had done anything right by her or not. She have him no hints, no signs of approval and it was getting frustrating. Hearing the strong flapping of her wings, he looked up to see Mayvn's hellbeast form flying off into the night sky towards the manor. Dracula followed shortly after with his terrifying bat form. It was a crisp, yet chilling night and a frigid wind blew in their faces as the two vampires sliced through the air with their wings.

Once Dracula had landed Mayvn had already left the entry way and was in her bedroom. Initially, Dracula had been reluctant to give her a bedroom of her own. However, after several nights of Mayvn sleeping on the opposite edge of the bed and tensing if he even touched her, Dracula decided that it would be better if she warmed up to him with time. Out of pure curiosity, Dracula quietly entered her bedroom. It was pitch black with the exception of two lit candles that rested on either side of a vanity. Mayvn sat on a small chair at the vanity, her eyes closed and deep in concentration. Trying not to break her concentration, he slowly crossed the room, his feet almost floating across the floor so as not to make a sound. He stopped by her side, and stood there silently.

Meanwhile Lucinda's eyes widened as a piercing scream echoed throughout Bucovina. Her father shot up from the table and instinctively grabbed a torch. Upon coming outside, Viktor joined the men with torches and followed the sound of the screams to the outskirts of town. Mirella ushered Lucinda upstairs and told her to stay there. Meanwhile, she locked herself in her room and knelt by the metal cross that hung above her bed.

While the screams and shouts could be heard distantly, Lucinda started wandering the narrow, candle lit hallway. A chilling draft blew through the hallway despite that almost no windows were anywhere near. After swearing she heard something behind her, Lucinda spun around on her heels. There was nothing there, but she shivered as she felt the cold wooden floor against the soles of her feet. She tightened her grip on the brown wool shawl that covered her white nightgown. Two taps came from behind her, sounding like they came from the floor. Lucinda stood, frozen and she couldn't turn around despite the cold, dark aura she felt behind her. When she heard a quiet, wicked cackle that was almost a whisper she held her breath, too afraid to make a sound. The voice that seemed to be cracking up behind her suddenly spoke. "Turn," the voice softly commanded. Lucinda turned her head but not her body slowly, as if in complete and utter terror.

She was met by Mayvn's milk white face, and her lips were curved into a wicked smirk. The small bit of light that lit the hallway sharpened the contrast between her skin and her raven hair.

"Why are you here?" Lucinda screamed, stepping backwards. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why no one in her home could hear her terrified screams.

"Do I need a reason to visit my sister?" she asked, menacingly advancing on her. As Mayvn took two steps forward, Lucinda would take two steps backwards.

"What do you want from me?" she whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You're not safe alone Lucy, it's not safe. Don't you hear the screams outside? Someone's not happy," Mayvn asked in somewhat of a high-pitched whisper.

"Mayvn, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Lucinda tearfully said, approaching her sister, arms outstretched.

"You know, Ira was sorry too," Mayvn said. Then without hesitation she raised an arm and sent Lucinda flying back through the hallway and into the bedroom. Her broken body laid on the floor by the window. With her back to the door, Lucinda weakly began to get up, using the window sill for support. Mayvn stood in the doorway, waiting for her to get up.

"Up and at 'em Lucinda, I'm waiting," Mayvn taunted. However to her surprise, Lucinda suddenly got up rather quickly without working. She was standing up strait, with her back to Mayvn, making no sound. Not only was that somewhat creepy to Mayvn, being fully aware of the damage she thought she had caused, but she also began to sense something unusually dark and sinister coming from Lucinda. As she was about to see what strange thing had overcome her sister, she was somewhat shocked to see Lucinda's head starting to turn while her body stayed in place. Her golden locks and rosy skin glistened in the moonlight. Lucinda's head kept turning at an agonizingly slow rate until it had turned around so that it was facing Mayvn (A/N: think The Exorcist). Mayvn let out a soft gasp as not only had she thought that impossible for humans, but Lucinda's eyes had turned completely black and her face was expressionless. Then, in a voice far darker and lower than Lucinda had ever possessed, Lucinda spoke.

"Time's up Mayvn. Sweet dreams," she said, the low, male voice echoing in laughter. Lucinda then raised both arms and with inhuman speed, shoved Mayvn in the chest and she went flying backwards. As she was in the hallway, about to make contact with the floor, Mayvn vanished.

In a split second Mayvn opened her eyes to realize that she was back in her room in Dracula's manor. However her body was still moving from the force of Lucinda's blow as she was practically pulled out of the chair by what seemed to be an invisible force. Her body crashed into Dracula who had been standing right behind her , and the two of them were airborne for about fifteen feet before both crashed to the marble floor on top of each other. Both were panting out of shock as Mayvn rolled off of Dracula and onto the floor, staring at the ceiling, her eyes wide.

"What happened?" Dracula demanded, panting since he had never been so surprised in his life. Mayvn closed her eyes and shook her head repeating.

"It's not safe. You're not safe alone. You're not safe," she kept repeating while trying to catch her breath.

"What's not safe?" Dracula breathed, still on the floor. However he got no response. She just kept breathing quickly on the floor and shaking. Dracula sat up and leaned over Mayvn. Pulling her into his lap and taking her head into his hands, Dracula spoke. "Mayvn, Mayvn look at me!" he commanded, having some experience with her "episodes." Once he had her icy blue eyes staring into his he spoke despite her quivering lip. "Why is it not safe?" he demanded again.

"He'll fine you," she whispered. Although he was unaware of what she meant, Dracula took his cloak, wrapped it around her, and gently rocked her in his arms.

**I hope that wasn't too confusing for anyone. If it was, basically Mayvn was invading Lucinda's dreams … again! Then Lucinda, or something went all crazy and pushed Mayvn out of Lucinda's dream, and back to where Mayvn's physical body was. If you understood that already, kudos to you for understanding my twisted mind. REVIEW! **


	9. A Plan for Freedom

**I'm updating again because …. well because I feel like it! This little chapter is just so you don't forget about Standislav and his lovely, leading lady: Radka. To the people who reviewed, thank you, and here are somemore personal responses.**

**Princess Airiana: You are right, she's accepted it, but she's not that crazy about it. She's holding a serious grudge against her sister for being such a bitch. I'm glad you think Mayvn's mean. It's what I was going for. Right now, she's a cold, heartless bitch. She'll get nicer though.**

**Just To Be: Hooray for you! Glad you understood it! You win … something good.**

Chapter 9: A Plan for Freedom

As the bright light of morning made its way into Lucinda's room, her ocean blue orbs snapped open as she heaved a sigh of relief. It had all been a dream. What terrified her more about that dream was not Mayvn's anger and wrath, but what had come over her afterwards. While it happened it felt as if her soul was being pushed out of her body to make way for something else, and it was horribly painful. She saw everything that happened, but was helpless to stop herself.

Dragging her exhausted form down to the kitchen, she was met by her family, all sitting rather quietly at the table. She quickly joined them before asking, "What is it?"

"Darling, Ira Grossinov was murdered last night. Remember the screams?" Mirella asked. For a moment, Lucinda was completely lost in what was real and what had been a dream. Nodding her head, she remembered what Mayvn had said, and things began to make more sense.

"How does that concern us?" she asked.

"Apparently most of the town knows about mom and dad trying to sell Mayvn to him," Standislav said in an accusing tone directed at his parents as well as Lucinda.

"And?" she asked, not being extremely quick witted like her siblings.

"And they know about the gold pieces, therefore we're the first people they suspect," her father explained.

"Damn," Lucinda muttered under her breath. From what Mayvn had said, Lucinda had a hunch as to who had murdered Ira. However she had a reputation to uphold and therefore accusing a dead person of murder was not a wise idea.

"Well this comes just in time for me to get a job," Standislav sighed.

"Oh, dear you're getting a job?" Mirella asked, slightly more alert.

"Good, a fine idea," Viktor said.

"Why the sudden need to work?" his mother asked. For a moment, Standislav contemplated telling the truth. However, he realized that his parents probably would not approve of him leaving to get an education, let alone saving up so he could support himself and Radka.

"I just thought some responsibility could be good for me," he said, taking another huge bite of bread to avoid further questioning.

"Well that's nice son," Viktor commented.

"Thank you father," Standislav managed with a very full mouth.

"And I'll be happy to set you up in Mr. Nevalainen's butcher shop," Viktor continued. Standislav froze for a moment, almost ready to go running out of his house, screaming. He managed to remain composed and slowly nodded his head. He had been hoping that he could get a job copying letters. He was one of the few people in the town who could write and so he thought he could put his rare skills to use. However, he thought, perhaps he could make more money working for a butcher. After all, the need for meat in Bucovina was greater than the need for literature.

Later that same day Viktor took Standislav over to see the town butcher. The shop was mostly wood, however there was some metal tables in the back room for preparing the meat, as well as a metal door for the meat locker. But the structure was still mostly wood, like the living quarters on the second floor. Standislav quietly stood to the side while his father negotiated thing with Boris Nevalainen. The two were chatting back and forth in a most guttural sounding rendition of Romanian. Standislav's Romanian was limited since his parents had wanted him to be fluent in English. However he could converse somewhat and did understand a lot of what they were saying.

"You do understand, Viktor, this is quite the favor. Rumors are flying left and right about your family since last night," Boris said, in English.

"I know, but come on old friend, you know better than to believe it. Have him work in the back if you're afraid about losing customers," Viktor urged. Boris thought for a moment. He was getting on in years and managing the whole shop single handedly was becoming more difficult. A smile spread across Boris's old, grungey face as he said, "All right."

Viktor briskly left and Boris turned his attention to Standislav. He motioned for him to follow and lead him into the back room. It was noticeably colder and all sorts of carnage and meat hung from hooks that lined the wall. It was a rather disgusting site. Before he could even react, Boris had thrown a white apron at him and Standislav barely caught it.

Within the next few hours, Boris taught Standislav a great many things that could be done with meat. Most of those things, Standislav would have liked to forget. However that was not an option if he wanted to keep the job. As he started to empty the inside portion of a cow so that he could then extract the meat he heard footsteps outside. Without bothering to take his bloody apron off, he quietly stepped out the back door. He rubbed his hands on the apron to get some of the blood off.

Casually he looked up for a second, and the moment he did his whole face lit up. Standing there, seeming pretty confused, was Radka. Immediately he regretted not taking his apron off. He blushed fiercely as Radka tried to form the sentence through her confusion.

"I thought I told you to get out of here," she said, folding her arms.

"I spoke to the man yesterday. He's preparing a test I'll need to take, then if I pass I'll be in," he said.

"Then why are you working at the butcher's shop?" she asked, slightly repulsed by the blood.

"Well," he started, "I've been thinking about what you said. You're right, once I get out of a place like this, I can't turn back. That made me think, if I'm going to be leaving, I'd better make sure I'm not leaving anything behind."

"What do you mean?" she asked, wrapping her shawl tighter.

"Once I get there I'll need food, housing, supplies. I'm not leaving without you Radka, and I'm saving up money so that the both of us can get out of here," he said.

Radka's soft, green eyes studied him for a moment. More than anything she wanted to tell him no, and that he should either be studying, or be saving the money for himself. But she could see the determination in his eyes. Suddenly her mind began to race with the exciting possibility that she could be leaving. "You ... you want me with you?" she asking, smiling weakly. He nodded. "Okay," she paused, "but I'm going to get a job too now, and we'll combine our income."

"Great, just, I don't recommend the butcher," he said. She laughed slightly before stepping closer and wrapping her arms around him. "I love you," he whispered into her auburn hair.

"I love you too," she smiled. As she went to embrace him she noticed the copious amount of blood on his apron and pulled back slightly.

"Sorry," she laughed a bit.

"It's okay," he smiled, quickly kissing her lips, "I'd better get back to work, but I'll see you later. Do yourself a favor, and get a job less dirty than this."

After several more hours of grueling meat processing, Standislav was allowed to go home. He briskly walked down the darkened streets. Though he didn't fear Mayvn, he was unsure if there were any other vampires nearby or if her master would not be pleased with his communication with Mayvn. His thick, leather boots softly touched the cobble stone streets, as he turned each corner, almost terrified of what might await him on the other side. Shutting the door to his house behind him, he heaved a big sigh of relief. He was finally saving up money, things were right between he and Radka again, and perhaps, he thought, Bucovina might again have peace.

**Tralalalala, reviews make me happy, tralalalalala**


End file.
